Misesean for Life An Interview With Hans F. Sennholz Spring 2002 — Volume 22, Number 1 Front cover: Ludwig von Mises and Alberto Benegas Lynch, Sr. (Photo courtesy of the Mises Archives at Grove City College) THE AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS NEWSLETTER Spring 2002 — Volume 22, Number 1 Copyright © 2002 by the Ludwig von Mises Institute 518 West Magnolia Avenue, Auburn, Alabama 36832-4528 phone (334) 321-2100; fax (334) 321-2119 email
[email protected]; website www.mises.org The Austrian Economics Newsletter is published quarterly by the Ludwig von Mises Institute. An Interview With Hans F. Sennholz MISESIAN FOR LIFE AEN: A strength of your writing is how you apply Austrian the- ory to financial crises, whether in interwar Germany or Japan today. SENNHOLZ: As a matter of fact, I am working on a piece about the Japanese recession. It has persisted for some ten years, which is quite incredible. It is erroneous to assert that recessions are caused by insufficient aggregate demand or whatever other explanation may be offered. Only the Austrian trade cycle theory explains the phenomenon and provides important advice. HANS F. SENNHOLZ As Professor Mises explained, the business cycle begins with Born in Brombauer, Westphalia, Germany, in 1922, Hans F. Sennholz the boom phase, when monetary authorities expand fiduciary received degrees from the University credit and lower interest rates. This distorts the pattern of eco- of Marburg (1948) and Cologne nomic production. At first, it generates overinvesment in capi- (Ph.D. 1949) before coming to the tal goods and causes their prices to rise, while the production of United States and receiving a Ph.D.